The Evolution Food Safety Testing in Kenya

Food quality/safety testing in Kenya and East Africa has experienced a rapid evolution in the past fifteen years. The evolution has been driven by:

a) Technological advancements globally.
b) Expansion of the scope of testing.
c) Regulatory alignment to the new constitution.
d) Public-private partnerships to enhance capabilities and for technology transfer.
e) Integration of information technology in reporting and data sharing.
f) Focus on emerging risks such as contaminants and foodborne microorganisms.

Significant food quality/safety testing initiatives came into focus about 25 years ago. This evolution morphed into the development of regulatory frameworks in 2006, 2012 and 2018. These laws lay the foundation for aligning various statutes with the 2010 constitution which is very progressive on the right to safe food for every Kenyan.

Subsequently the government of Kenya established task forces and committees to not only coordinate food safety programs but also enhance the capacity of key regulatory entities such Government Chemist, KEBS, KEMRI and KEPHIS to respond to emerging food safety issues. The intervention by the government with support from development partners and from own resources led to substantial investment in building the capacity of these laboratories and the personnel to respond to emerging food safety challenges.

Before the year 2000, in the absence of regulatory framework, food safety was confined to basic microbiological testing for common foodborne pathogens, basic chemical analysis and testing primarily focused on export products. A lot of the tests involved rapid tests using kits and wet chemistry. These methods were inaccurate, slow and expensive. In the absence of local capacity, samples were shipped to Europe or Asia for testing. This was done at an exorbitant cost and time wasted.

With the emergence of stringent safety and quality standards in Europe, America and Asia, the focus shifted to building of local testing capacity and for traceability. The need for farm to fork traceability systems and electronic certification Systems for exports were initiated. This led to expansion of testing capabilities to include more sophisticated microbiological tests, Introduction of basic pesticide residue testing and establishment of more food testing laboratories.

Over this period, initial plans to build the capacity of Kenya Bureau of Standards(KEBS), Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate(KEPHIS), Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) etc to conduct enhanced quality testing that involved increased focus on aflatoxin testing, enhancement of chemical contaminant testing capabilities and introduction of more advanced analytical equipment (e.g., HPLC, GC-MS, AAS) started. These institutions procured HPLC, GC, AAS and GCMS Systems etc and immediately embarked on building their local capacities to respond to the emerging testing needs.

With the development of basic testing capability within both government laboratories, the focus shifted to adoption of risk based approaches more so for export products such as HACCP and Food Safety Management Systems. Another area of focus was on the expansion of the scope of food testing laboratories, investment by the private sector, enhanced market surveillance and border controls, stricter regulations on pesticide use and maximum residue limits, increased testing for pesticide residues in fresh produce, heightened awareness and control measures for aflatoxin contamination and introduction of technology to combat aflatoxins. Nesvax Innocations was part of this evolution and provided the technologies such as HPLC, GC, GC, AAS and GCMS systems to these public laboratories. Nesvax also built the capacity of the end-users through continuous training and technical support.

The late 2000 and early 2010s saw Adoption of international testing methods and standards, expansion of testing to cover a wider range of food products and introduction of risk-based testing approaches. Within this period many government governmental institutions such as KEBS, KEPHIS, Government Chemist, KEMRI and private laboratories such as SGS Kenya, Polucon Services and Bureau Veritas deliberately embarked on measures to enhancing the capacity/capability of laboratory capabilities. These entities were joined by International Research Organizations such as ICIPE, ILRI etc. Nesvax Innovations was a critical partner for the private and international research laboratories in enabling them built and enhance their capacity. We offered the essential instrumentation and helped bult the human capacity for these laboratories to respond to the emerging needs.

The period between late 2010 and 2020 resulted in new measures resulting in more rigorous testing for export products to meet international market requirements, Increased capacity for heavy metal testing, Introduction of GMO testing capabilities, Adoption of rapid testing methods for foodborne pathogens, food fortification, Enhanced capabilities for testing antibiotic residues in animal products and Increased focus on testing for food fraud and adulteration. The public and private laboratories invested substantially in testing capabilities by acquiring top of the range equipment such as GCMSMS, LCMSMS, Ion trap GCMS, AAS etc . Of special note is the role played by several development partners such Trademark Africa, World Bank and European Union under SMAPP In supporting equipping and building human capacity for the public laboratories.

From the year 2020 to date the approach towards food safety has focused on exploring of non-targeted screening methods for unknown contaminants, Increased use of molecular methods (e.g., PCR) for pathogen detection, Growing interest in testing for emerging contaminants (e.g., PFAS, microplastics etc). This has also resulted in the application of block chain technology and artificial intelligence in testing and traceability. The drive has led to public and private laboratories building the capacity by acquiring equipment such Time of Flight Mass Spectrometer, Real time PCRs, ICPMS, ICPOES etc

In the years ahead, the need for safety testing for locally consumed food will take centre stage as a public health matter. This will most likely result in enhanced rapid testing in local market centres and building capacity of both public and private laboratories to test for pesticide residues, heavy metals, Food borne microorganisms, micro plastics etc,

Nesvax Innovations Limited as a partner in this evolution works with three manufacturers, Sciex, Scion and Analytik Jena, to bring to you the up to date capacities to enable your lab cope with the new requirements. We offer the equipment, training and service of the equipment to ensure that you get value for your money. We also arrange webinars and person seminars on food safety. You are most welcome to subscribe and join the talks.